A Biologically Inspired Soft Robotic Antenna for Insect-like Robots

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to manufacture a soft robotic antenna with bending and strain sensing properties. The ultimate goal is to achieve wall following using the feedback obtained from this antenna. The design of the soft robotic antenna is inspired from the movement of the cockroach and the interaction of its antenna with its environment. To that end, a conductive carbon grease is injected in a silicon rubber substrate to obtain a structure with bending and strain sensing properties. It is aimed that the resulting sensor performs its measuring capabilities even under various conditions such as under water or debris where commonly used sensors based on infrared and ultrasonic principles usually fail to function properly.